The "SpongeBooster of the Year" award was launched to celebrate inspiring efforts to restore sponge landscapes across Europe, recognising local initiatives that bring rivers and wetlands back to life.

The first award ceremony was held on 20 June, honouring planar e.V., a small non-profit initiative, for its restoration of a degraded stretch of the Diemel River. The event brought together local partners, community members, and environmental organisations to recognise their achievements.

Following the ceremony, the SpongeBoost project organised a field trip to the restoration site near Marsberg in the Hochsauerlandkreis. As part of the prize, the visit provided participants with the opportunity to experience the transformation firsthand and learn more about the progress made.

Working on a voluntary basis, without heavy equipment or major funding, planar e.V. carried out a two-year restoration between 2023 and 2025. Key steps included:

• Reshaping the riverbed to restore natural flows

• Creating side channels to support biodiversity

• Adding large woody material to mimic natural structures

• Reconnecting 20 hectares of floodplain

• Allowing natural regeneration without concrete or artificial planting

As a result, a previously straightened and confined river now meanders, floods, and supports a mosaic of habitats. Fish such as stone loach and minnow are reproducing again, greyling populations are increasing, and beavers have returned to the area.

The next "SpongeBooster of the Year" award will return in 2026, with applications opening in autumn 2025. Stay tuned.